Boxing returns to Peterborough on Saturday night after three-year hiatus
Pontypool’s Perentesis is dedicating his fight against Avery Crawford to grandfather
Kyri Perentesis is dedicating his next bout to his inspiration, his grandfather.
Perentesis will headline Scrapyard Boxing Club’s Vengeance Returns 2 when he faces Avery Crawford of Belleville’s Pinnacle Boxing on a 14-bout amateur card Saturday night at the Venue.
The 20-year-old from Pontypool began boxing after he heard the stories of his grandfather Rolf Ernst Kublinski’s amateur career in his native Germany, which was cut short by a heart condition. Now in his mid-80s and battling dementia, he is still Perentesis’s inspiration.
“I got inspired by my grandpa,” said Perentesis, recalling how he first got interested in boxing. “He was winning all his matches and doing really good for himself and then he got a heart problem. I heard the story and got inspired and started boxing because of him.”
His grandfather has seen him fight twice, but, because of his worsening condition, he won’t be there this weekend. Perentesis has his grandfather’s boxing passport and keeps it in his room.
“I’m going to dedicate this fight to him and I’m going to try my hardest to get that win and come out on top,” said Perentesis, who fights at 130 pounds.
He has other reasons for boxing. “The support I get from friends and family,” he said.
“I get a lot of people adding me on social media and I really appreciate anybody who supports me like that.”
Perentesis, who has a 5-2 record with two knockouts, works at Line-X installing truck bed liners and doing rustproofing. He hopes to turn professional and follow in the footsteps of former Scrapyard members like Cody Crowley and Jordan McCue.
“I’m definitely going to go pro. That’s my dream. I know, with how fast I’ve been growing and learning, I’m going to go pro. I don’t know exactly when but hopefully I’ll soon turn pro. It’s always been my dream,” he said.
He’s one of three Scrapyard boxers and seven local fighters participating on the card.
Scrapyard’s Dylan White will face Golden Tiger Boxing Club’s Logan Syers at165 pounds and Max Ayotte will meet Uptown Boxing Club’s Jonah Sands at 175 pounds.
Corcoran’s Boxing Gym’s Nathan Peterson, 25, will make his amateur debut at 150 pounds and Tyler Matthys, 9, will participate in a fun box match at 65 pounds.
Two boxers from Lindsay’s Boxing Factory will also compete. Chayton Valleau will box at 150 pounds and Jaxson Leith will make his debut at 113 pounds.
This is the second show Jessica Swain has promoted since taking over ownership of Scrapyard in 2019. She said her biggest motivator for hosting shows is to generate some funds to assist her boxers. Coming out of the pandemic, she didn’t have the funds to do that type of thing. Hosting her first show last spring helped.
“It allows me to fund the guys and gals travelling when they compete. If they go to Ottawa and they need to stay in a hotel I can now say, ‘Hey, we can do this. The club can pay for this,’ ” she said. “It’s been great because I’ve been able to pay the gas for people and pay for tickets and pay for the coaches’ meals and boxers’ hotels if required. I’m in the black for a change.”
She also doesn’t want her boxers to always be the visitor.
“There’s just something about fighting in your hometown,” she said. “That’s really why you do it. To give them that opportunity.”
Tickets are $25 in advance, by calling Swain at 705-927-0431 or by email at scrapyardboxptbo@gmail.com, and $30 at the door. Doors open at 6 p.m. and bouts start at 7 p.m.
“It’s exciting after three years of no boxing to bring the fights back to Peterborough,” said Swain. “It’s something I’d like to do annually.”